(3 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington – 3 January 2025
1. Various of House Speaker Mike Johnson arriving to the U.S. Capitol, walking into the Speaker’s office, UPSOUND (English)
Reporter: "What are they saying? I (Rep. Thomas) Massie still a ‘No?’"
Johnson: "I don’t divulge private conversations."
Reporter: "Do you think you’ll make it on the first ballot today? The first round?"
Johnson: "I think so."
2. Various of House Speaker Mike Johnson leaving the Speaker’s office, walking by reporters as he exits the U.S. Capitol, UPSOUND (English)
Reporter: "Are you confident about the election, sir?"
Johnson: "Yup. Confident."
Reporter: "How many ballots do you expect it will take?"
Johnson: "I expect we’ll get it done in the first round. The first floor vote."
3. House Speaker Mike Johnson walks by reporters as he returns to the U.S. Capitol, stops at the entrance the Speaker’s Office
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Johnson, House Speaker:
"I’ve been talking to all members and I believe that we need to unify so that we can move the Trump agenda. This election is not just about one person. It’s about moving forward with the America First agenda. The the mandate was given by the American people, by the electorate. President Trump got 77 million votes. House Republicans got almost 75 million. It’s a record number. They are expecting us to get to work and we don’t have time for drama. So my simple message to my colleagues is make suggestions about process improvements. We’re open to that at all times, but I don’t make deals with anyone. There’s no quid pro quo here. I don’t do anything in exchange for a vote other than commit to make this institution work as effectively and efficiently as possible."
++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
The new Congress convenes Friday with one major task at hand — the election of the House speaker.
But current Speaker Mike Johnson’s weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival but President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations as Republicans sweep to power in Washington.
With opposition from his own GOP colleagues, Johnson was holed up in the Capitol on the eve of the vote, working to sway the hardline holdouts. A flop by Johnson could throw Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil without a House speaker. Even backing from Trump himself, usually a sure bet for Republicans, is no guarantee Johnson will stay in power.
What was once a ceremonial day with newly-elected lawmakers arriving to be sworn into office, often with family and friends in tow, has evolved into a high-stakes vote for the office of House speaker, among the most powerful elected positions in Washington.
While the Senate is able to convene on its own and has already elected party leaders — Sen. John Thune as the Republican majority leader and Sen. Chuck Schumer for the Democratic minority — the House must first elect its speaker, a role required by the Constitution, second in the line of succession to the president.
Congress has been here before, when it took Republicans nearly a week and 15 rounds of voting to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023, a spectacle unseen in modern times. McCarthy was then dumped by his party, a historic first, but he was also part of a long list of GOP speakers chased to early exits.
The stakes are higher this year as Trump prepares to return to the White House with the House and Senate in GOP control and promising to deliver big on a 100-day agenda.
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